People write a lot about generators, but almost never calculate the final cost for the entire season. The reason is understandable, since most materials are written by sellers, and the figure turns out to be such that it does not help sales. Here there will be a full calculation with open assumptions so that you can substitute your own data.

What the cost consists of

People usually calculate only the price of the generator itself, although it is the smallest expense item with regular use. The full list looks like this. The purchase of the generator, which is a one-time expense. Connection, that is, a transfer switch and the work of an electrician, is also a one-time expense. Fuel, which makes up the main part of the expenses. Maintenance, that is, oil, filters and spark plugs according to the schedule. Depreciation, that is, engine wear, since each operating hour brings a major repair or replacement closer. Related expenses, that is, canisters, extension cords, funnels and storage equipment.

Initial calculation data

To make the figures verifiable, I will openly state all assumptions. A five-kilowatt gasoline generator, which is a typical choice for a private house. The actual load is approximately two kilowatts, since most households power a boiler, circulation pump, refrigerator, lighting and router from the generator, rather than the entire house. Fuel consumption at such a partial load is approximately one point two liters per hour. At full load, it increases to approximately one point five to one point eight liters. The price of A-95 gasoline is approximately ninety hryvnias per liter as of the end of September 2026. Diesel fuel costs approximately ninety-nine hryvnias. The heating season is approximately one hundred and eighty days, that is, from October to March. The electricity tariff is four hryvnias and thirty-two kopecks per kilowatt-hour.

How much an hour of operation costs

This is the basic figure from which everything else is calculated. A gasoline generator with a consumption of one point two liters per hour and a price of ninety hryvnias per liter costs approximately one hundred and eight hryvnias per hour for fuel alone. A diesel generator with a consumption of approximately zero point eight liters per hour and a price of ninety-nine hryvnias costs approximately seventy-nine hryvnias per hour. That is, one hour of generator operation costs approximately as much as a meal in a café, and this is where the final amount begins to grow.

Three season scenarios

Now let us multiply this by the number of hours, and here everything depends on how severe the outages will be. The light scenario assumes approximately two hours of operation per day for one hundred and fifty days, that is, about three hundred operating hours per season. The fuel will cost approximately thirty-two thousand hryvnias for a gasoline generator. The medium scenario assumes approximately four hours per day for one hundred and eighty days, that is, about seven hundred and twenty operating hours. The fuel will cost approximately seventy-eight thousand hryvnias.

The heavy scenario assumes approximately eight hours per day for one hundred and eighty days, that is, about one thousand four hundred and forty operating hours. The fuel will cost approximately one hundred and fifty-five thousand hryvnias. For a diesel generator, these amounts will be approximately one quarter lower, that is, about twenty-four, fifty-seven and one hundred and fourteen thousand respectively.

Maintenance

Oil in household generators is changed approximately every fifty to one hundred operating hours, and we will take seventy-five for the calculation. A set of oil and a filter costs approximately six hundred hryvnias, and a spark plug replacement is periodically added. The light scenario gives approximately four replacements per season, that is, about two and a half thousand hryvnias. The medium scenario gives about ten replacements, that is, six thousand hryvnias. The heavy scenario gives about nineteen replacements, that is, more than eleven thousand hryvnias. This is the expense item that is most often omitted, and neglecting it costs an engine.

Depreciation

A household gasoline generator has a service life of approximately three thousand operating hours and costs approximately thirty thousand hryvnias. Dividing one by the other, we get approximately ten hryvnias of wear per operating hour. For the medium scenario, this is approximately seven thousand hryvnias per season. For a diesel generator with a service life of about ten thousand operating hours and a price of about seventy thousand hryvnias, wear amounts to approximately seven hryvnias per operating hour, that is, about five thousand for the same season. This is where it becomes clear why diesel is more advantageous with intensive use, since it is cheaper both in terms of fuel and wear.

Total for the season

Let us add everything up for a gasoline generator. The light scenario costs approximately thirty-eight thousand hryvnias. The medium scenario costs approximately ninety-one thousand hryvnias. The heavy scenario costs approximately one hundred and eighty-one thousand hryvnias. These are expenses for only one season, without taking into account the purchase of the equipment itself.

One-time expenses in the first year

The purchase is added to this in the first year. A five-kilowatt generator costs approximately from thirty thousand hryvnias, while an inverter model with a pure sine wave for a gas boiler is more expensive. A transfer switch together with the work of an electrician costs approximately eight to fifteen thousand hryvnias depending on the complexity. Canisters, extension cords of the required cross-section and small accessories add another approximately two thousand. That is, the first year for the medium scenario comes to approximately one hundred and thirty thousand hryvnias, and the following ones to ninety thousand.

The main figure

Now the most interesting part, that is, how much the electricity itself costs. In the medium scenario, the generator operated for seven hundred and twenty hours at a load of two kilowatts, that is, it produced approximately one thousand four hundred and forty kilowatt-hours. The expenses for the season amounted to approximately ninety-one thousand hryvnias. Dividing one by the other, we get approximately sixty-three hryvnias per kilowatt-hour. The grid tariff is four hryvnias and thirty-two kopecks. That is, electricity from a generator costs approximately fifteen times more than grid electricity. With a higher load, the situation improves somewhat, since the engine operates more efficiently, and at a load of four kilowatts the cost falls to approximately forty hryvnias per kilowatt-hour. But even this is nine times more expensive than the tariff.

What follows from this in practice

The main conclusion is that a generator is not a way to live as before. It is a way to cover critical needs, and any attempt to power everything from it turns into an amount that most families did not plan for. Several rules follow from this. Do not heat with electricity from the generator, since a two-kilowatt heater adds approximately one hundred and eight hryvnias for every hour of operation. Heat should be provided by insulation and non-electric heating. Do not start the generator for just one appliance, since fuel consumption hardly depends on whether you are powering only the router or the entire critical list. Do not keep it idling, since this consumes fuel and wears out the engine without any benefit. Group tasks, that is, turn on the generator once and do everything that requires electricity during that time.

A scheme that cuts costs in half

Here is the most useful part of the calculation. Instead of starting the generator every time the electricity goes out, it is used differently.

The generator operates for approximately two hours per day at full load and during this time powers powerful equipment and simultaneously charges a power station. The rest of the time, the station quietly supplies lighting, the router, the boiler and the refrigerator. Let us calculate. Instead of seven hundred and twenty operating hours, we get approximately three hundred and sixty. Consumption at full load is higher, that is, about one point six liters per hour, which gives approximately one hundred and forty-four hryvnias per hour.

Together, fuel amounts to about fifty-two thousand, maintenance to about three thousand, and depreciation to about four thousand. The total is approximately fifty-nine thousand hryvnias instead of ninety-one. The savings per season amount to about thirty-two thousand hryvnias, that is, a medium-capacity power station pays for itself in one winter precisely through fuel savings, not counting its other advantages. Additional bonuses are silence at night, less engine wear and no need to go outside every time.

Diesel or gasoline in numbers

For the medium scenario, the gasoline option gives approximately ninety-one thousand hryvnias per season, while the diesel option gives approximately sixty-eight thousand. The difference is about twenty-three thousand hryvnias for one season. At the same time, a diesel generator costs approximately forty thousand more to purchase. That is, the price difference pays for itself in approximately two seasons with medium load, and faster with heavy use. For the light scenario with three hundred operating hours, the savings amount to about eight thousand per season, and the payback period stretches to five years, meaning the gasoline option turns out to be more reasonable. I wrote separately about the other differences between the types, including diesel performance in freezing temperatures.

About the gas option

Automotive gas costs approximately forty-four hryvnias per liter, that is, approximately twice as cheap as gasoline. Consumption is approximately one and a half times higher due to the lower calorific value, so the net savings amount to approximately twenty-five to thirty percent compared with the gasoline option. For the medium scenario, this is about twenty thousand hryvnias per season. Keep in mind that we are talking about gas-powered generators or conversion, and each option has its own requirements for cylinder storage and safety.

How to calculate your own case

The scheme is simple, and you can do it in ten minutes. Determine the list of appliances you will power and add their power together to get the actual load. Look at the generator's specifications for fuel consumption at this load, and if it is not available, take approximately zero point five to zero point six liters for each kilowatt-hour produced for a gasoline engine. Multiply consumption by the current fuel price to get the cost per hour. Estimate how many hours per day the generator will realistically operate in your area, and multiply by the number of days in the season. Add approximately ten percent for maintenance and another ten for depreciation.

The resulting amount is your winter on a generator.

Summary

Electricity from a household generator costs approximately forty to sixty hryvnias per kilowatt-hour depending on the load, that is, approximately ten to fifteen times more expensive than grid electricity. A medium-severity season for a private house costs approximately ninety thousand hryvnias for fuel and maintenance, and the first year with the purchase of the equipment approximately one hundred and thirty. Because of this, the most reasonable strategy is not to abandon the generator, but to use it intensively and for short periods, that is, to run it for several hours at full load and charge a storage unit, since this scheme reduces costs by approximately one third for the same level of comfort.


Sources

Fuel prices according to data from the A-95 Consulting Group and publications by Glavcom and my.ua as of September 26-28, 2026. Technical parameters of generators according to manufacturers' data and industry materials.